Why shopping app Temu could be cause for consumer concern

[Gefn]

If you hadn't yet heard of Temu, chances are you would have soon. Consider it a wannabe Amazon, another morally questionable online retailer with prices so low you can understand why an inflation-plagued consumer would want to take advantage. And it's only getting more popular — unique visitors in the U.S. catapulted from 5.1 million at the time of its launch in September 2022 to 70.1 million by February 2023, the Los Angeles Times reported per Insider Intelligence. At the time of this writing, it was the #1 free app on the Apple App Store, besting YouTube TV, TikTok and Instagram, as well as WhatsApp, Facebook and (believe it or not) Amazon.

Though PDD Holdings, the Chinese company that owns Temu, is based in Shanghai, Temu itself is based in Boston. Still, that fact hasn't stopped lawmakers and government officials from throwing flags regarding the retailer's origins and business practices. In April, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission released a report mentioning both Temu and Shein, an extremely popular fast-fashion website, as "two Chinese companies of concern over issues related to exploitation of trade loopholes, product safety, forced labor, violations of intellectual property rights and more," the Times summarized. (Both websites, which Insider noted share many similarities, have also filed lawsuits against one another.) But when you can buy a knock-off JBL speaker for $11.49 or an Apple Watch dupe for $16.88, can you blame the average cash-strapped consumer for overlooking supposed shadiness in exchange for a good deal?



https://theweek.com/china/1026408/temu-consumer-concern-china

[mountaineer]

the Chinese company that owns Temu

As soon as I read the first sentence, I figured as much. Too good to be true! Cheap stuff!

[Gefn]

As soon as I read the first sentence, I figured as much. Too good to be true! Cheap stuff!

I know several people who have been  or had ordered from this site. Also I keep getting popup ads for it.

If it looks too good to be true, it probably isn't so they say.

@mountaineer

[DefiantMassRINO]

 

What's not to like?

Temu is a distrubtion channel for the Chinese Communist Party.  They buy the dangerous, predatory-priced, slave-labor products from John Kerry's factories, and pass the savings on to us.

... as they put more American industries out of business and compromise more of our electronic devices.

[Smokin Joe]

What's not to like?

Temu is a distrubtion channel for the Chinese Communist Party.  They buy the dangerous, predatory-priced, slave-labor products from John Kerry's factories, and pass the savings on to us.

... as they put more American industries out of business and compromise more of our electronic devices.

How many of those gadgets are made there, anyway?
I have seen an abundance of gadgets and widgets, mostly tools and such,  that have tempted me, but I haven't pulled the trigger.
Still, I wonder if their American marketed equivalents aren't the same product from the same source, just relabeled and marked up.

[catfish1957]

Even a sleazy Chicom plant like this is destined to be a failed business endeavor.  Believe me folks, Amazon has a stranglehold on the on-line trade markets.  It has the infrastructure, networking, and an institutionalized named standard that is inpenetrable.

This is comprable to me formulating a new cola soft drink in my garage, and trying to compete with Coke and Pepsi.  I think there is possibly something more sinister involved here.   

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

I do like the little portable washing machine I see advertised repeatedly on Facebook but I heard Temu is a scam like wish.com.

[Wingnut]

Even a sleazy Chicom plant like this is destined to be a failed business endeavor.  Believe me folks, Amazon has a stranglehold on the on-line trade markets.  It has the infrastructure, networking, and an institutionalized named standard that is inpenetrable.

This is comprable to me formulating a new cola soft drink in my garage, and trying to compete with Coke and Pepsi.  I think there is possibly something more sinister involved here.

I started using TEMU a month or so ago thinking they would have better deals than Beso's place.   After reading this post I went pack and looked and compared.   Turns out on all but one item Amazon had a better price.  Not to mention Amazon kills TEMU with faster shipping.   

I'm done using the Chinkcom site.

[LadyLiberty]

The Grizzly Research report linked in the article claims that Temu loses $30 on every order.  What is in it for them if they are willing to lose that much money?

[bigheadfred]

The Grizzly Research report linked in the article claims that Temu loses $30 on every order.  What is in it for them if they are willing to lose that much money?

Credit card numbers?

[Smokin Joe]

Credit card numbers?

Debit card data, too.

[mountaineer]

I suspect it's all about data mining.